For local sports, 2012 was a year of championships and coaching changes.

Local high school sports teams brought home a total of five state titles while the area also saw a wrestler in our own back yard take home a state individual wrestling crown as well as see the Onslow Amateur golf tournament crown its annual champion.

But even more than the number of local champions was the number of head coaching changes for area high school sports teams. Including White Oak hiring Chad Ashley as its new football coach, nine local teams changed coaches with many of them being in basketball.

Here’s a list of memorable sports moments in the area in order of when they were reported by The Daily News:

Marshburn suffers heart attack

Northside boys’ basketball coach Tony Marshburn suffered a heart attack during practice on January 13. He was taken to Carolina East Medical Center in New Bern for care.

Marshburn missed time away from the Monarchs before returning late in the season. He is still coaching Northside, which just won the annual Onslow County Classic tournament.

Cougars fall short

Croatan’s bid for a third consecutive NCHSAA 2-A dual team title came up short as the Cougars lost to Piedmont in the final on Feb. 11.

Ashley hired

New Hanover defensive coordinator Chad Ashley was hired on February 16 to become head football coach at White Oak High, replacing Bob Blick, who had stepped down at the end of the season.

Ashley’s first season for the Vikings was a tough one as White Oak went 1-10 overall with the one win coming via forfeit against D.H. Conley.

Ross wins

Jacksonville High junior wrestler Tyler Ross won the 120-pound state 3-A individual title on Feb. 25 in Greensboro.

Ross defeated East Rowan’s Mark Almeida 10-9 in the final to finish the season 47-1 overall. Ross became the first Jacksonville wrestler to win a state individual wrestling title.

NCHSAA realignment

The NCHSAA released its final realignment configuration in March with several area schools being affected by the change.

Southwest and Dixon will jump from 1-A to 2-A and will join Northside, East Duplin, Croatan and North Brunswick next year in the East Central 2-A Conference.

Richlands and Swansboro will jump from 2-A to 3-A and will join Jacksonville and White Oak along with Havelock, West Carteret and West Craven in the Coastal 3-A Conference.

Lejeune and Jones Senior remain in the Coastal Plains 1-A Conference.

Williams signs

Former Richlands High standout Mario Williams signed a six-year deal worth up to $100 million, including $50 million guaranteed, with the Buffalo Bills in March.

Williams was the top draft pick in 2006 by the Houston Texans.

Padgett, Hurst honored

Southwest High football coach Phil Padgett and former Georgetown High football standout Roy Hurst were inducted into the 10th class of the Jacksonville-Onslow Sports Hall of Fame in April.

Padgett has been the head coach at Southwest since 1988 while Hurst was a star running back at Georgetown before graduating from the school in 1956.

Vikings, Stallions champs

Both the White Oak and Southwest girls’ soccer teams took home NCHSAA state titles in May at the Dail Soccer Stadium at N.C. State University.

The Vikings beat defending champion Charlotte Catholic 2-1 in the 3-A final for their sixth title since 2003 while the Stallions beat Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in the 1-A title game for their second championship in three years.

Dixon in regionals

Dixon’s baseball team showed it could win without former standout Rookie Davis — now with the New York Yankees organization — as the Bulldogs won the Coastal Plains 1-A Conference title and advanced to the NCHSAA 1-A East Regional finals in May.

Dixon lost in three games to Voyager Academy in the best-of-3 regional series, coming up one game short of a trip to the state finals.

Flybuoy wins

Flybuoy, captained by Robert Hollingsworth of Charleston, S.C. won the 54th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin tournament in Morehead City on June 23.

The Flybuoy brought in a 499.3-pound marlin on the opening day of the tournament and ended up winning $494,710.

Rookie makes debut

Former Dixon High baseball standout William “Rookie Davis” made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast League Yankees on June 26 at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla.

Davis pitched 2 2/3 innings, gave up 2 hits and an earned run, walked one and struck out three.

Erny retires

Lejeune High boys’ basketball coach Doug Erny officially announced that he would not reapply for his job as the Devilpups’ coach, effectively retiring from the position he’s held for 23 years.

Erny finished with 406-195 record.

Herring makes Olympics

Camp Lejeune Marine Jamel Herring made the U.S. Olympic boxing team in July.

Herring, who is now fighting professionally, lost 19-9 to Daniyar Yeleussinov of Kazakhstan in the first round.

New hoops coaches

A numbers of area high school changed basketball coaches over the summer.

At Jacksonville, James Jordan replaced Mike Ark as coach of the boys’ team while Monique Gidrey replaced Bernie Poole as the girls’ team coach.

Eddie Connelly shot a final round 2-over 74 on Sept. 23 to win his third Onslow Amateur golf tournament on Sept. 23 at the Bear Trail Golf course.

He finished 3 strokes over 5-time champion Jeff Allen.

JHS, SWO win crowns

Both the Jacksonville and Southwest boys’ soccer teams won state titles on Nov. 24 at the Dail Soccer Stadium N.C. State University.

The Cardinals won their second state 3-A title in program history with a 2-1 overtime victory over Hickory in a match in which Jacksonville rallied with a goal late in regulation.

Jacksonville also finished second in the final MaxPreps.com national rankings.

Meanwhile, Southwest won its first state crown with a 2-0 victory over Lake Norman Charter in the 1-A final.

Stallions’ fourth

Southwest’s football team won its fourth state title in program history with a 44-34 victory over defending champion Swain County in the NCHSAA 1-AA final at Carter-Finley Stadium at N.C. State University on Dec. 1.

Junior J’Veon Walker was named the game’s MVP after he rushed for a touchdown, intercepted a pass and returned the second-half kickoff for a touchdown.

The Stallions finished the season 14-1.

Prep sports writer Chris Miller can be contacted via email at chris.miller@jdnews.com or by calling 910-219-8472.